


Different

by FanGirlFreak16



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Varian and the Seven Kingdoms
Genre: Adopted Children, Christmas Presents, Family, Family Feels, First Christmas, Found Family, Hugo does a steal, Hugo's childhood, No Angst, Presents, Surprisingly, child Hugo, child varian, momella
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanGirlFreak16/pseuds/FanGirlFreak16
Summary: Donella was by no means a materialistic person. Not that Hugo could detect anyway from the time he had been under her care. However, the way she looked at one object in particular in passing was enough to drive Hugo to try to get it for her.
Relationships: Donella & Hugo (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms), Hugo & Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	Different

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FMDoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FMDoodles/gifts).



> This story is a Christmas gift for the marvelous FMDoodles! You should definitely give her tumblr a look here: https://fmdoodles.tumblr.com/
> 
> She's a fantastic artist and has helped inspire me on multiple occasions. 
> 
> This story is angst free! A shocker from me, I know! I hope you enjoy!

This was stupid.

He  _ knew  _ this was stupid. 

Christmas time was by far the busiest time of the year. Stores would be filled to the brim with wealthy individuals purchasing items for their affluent family members. Employees were always on the lookout for children and adults who looked scraggly, knowing they most often had the incentive to steal. 

Hugo, by no means, looked rich. Granted, he looked much better than he did under Solomon’s care, clothes no longer littered with holes that exposed his skin, but he still looked as if he was below a commoner’s status. Maybe it had something to do with his physique, for Donella clothed him and fed him well enough. His frame was just much too skinny, and his clothes tended to swallow him whole. No, he looked like one of the many children of the Iron Kingdom who had no home to go to.

Therefore, him being out and about during this time of year was  _ stupid.  _

Especially since he did plan on doing what every store employee despised. 

He would have avoided the kingdom’s square with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole around this time of year in any other circumstance. He would have much preferred staying under the roof of Solomon’s base or being invested in a mission of some sort. Anywhere away from rich folk intending to buy stores out of stock was welcome to the eleven-year-old blonde boy. 

However, while he and Donella were out on a mission, they had come across the kingdom’s square, which was lined with shops galore. None of these shops had anything to do with the task that had been at hand, and Hugo honestly couldn’t remember why they needed to cut through the square, but there was one thing he did remember. 

Donella was by no means a materialistic person. Not that Hugo could detect anyway from the time he had been under her care. However, the way she looked at one object in particular in passing was enough to drive Hugo to try to get it for her. 

Hugo moved to put his chin and mouth in the head opening of his shirt, his breath accumulating in a smoke-like cloud as soon as it hit the crisp, frigid air. He didn’t care much for the cold, having had to bear with it on multiple occasions while he lived on the streets. He figured the store would be warm, what with the multitude of people inside of it. 

Cautiously, Hugo made his way up to the store’s door, making sure he didn’t draw much attention to himself. It was already peculiar that a child his age would be roaming the store unsupervised by an elder, and Hugo knew that. This is why he’d ensure he’d proceed with the utmost caution. 

He slowly opened the door, silently cheering because the door did not have a bell on the top that would alert the employees of his entry. With a shudder, Hugo allowed his shirt to fall from his face; the drastic temperature change was welcome to him and his cold skin. For a moment, his eyes darted about the building, taking in the immaculate demeanor the store had to offer with awe.

From the outside, the store didn’t look like much; a simple door among multiple others sunken into a wall housing a multitude of different stores, almost as if in a duplex manner. On the inside, however, there were two explicit stories. A staircase, not quite grand, but much more than simple, stood in the center of the first floor, which led up to the second floor. The second story was much smaller than the first, containing an open middle where individuals could see the ceiling on any floor. The second story simply consisted of flooring on the building’s walls, only extending from them by maybe six feet. A railing surrounded the floor to ensure no one fell should someone trip. 

_ Avoidance of lawsuits,  _ Hugo thought with a roll of his eyes.  _ Not care for others’ wellbeing.  _ Breaking himself out of his thoughts, Hugo moved quickly to the area Donella had seen the gift. She had caught sight of the object outside the store through the window, sitting delicately in a display case. Hugo figured that the item in the display case couldn’t be the only one there. There was more than likely a stash in front of the display case.

He was pleased to see that he was correct.

In front of the display case, there were sat boxes of the same object in neat stacks, a price tag sitting underneath them all. 

_ That won’t matter,  _ Hugo thought amusedly, looking at the boxes to ensure it was the object he was indeed looking for. He allowed his fingers to dust over the top box, looking over towards the display case, ensuring that the boxes matched up. When he was confident they did, he looked about his surroundings hurriedly. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he quickly transferred the top box from the stack to his oversized shirt, pressing the container as close to his body as possible. 

Turning quickly but making sure not to cause a scene, Hugo made a beeline towards the front door. The sounds of footsteps echoing on the tiled flooring of the store only added to his adrenaline rush. Hugo was surrounded by rich folks who would love to beat him with their overly priced canes while they sneered down at him with their classy monocles. And he despised them all as much as he knew they hated him, if not slightly more. 

Hugging the box closer to himself, yet not making it obvious he was holding something, Hugo relished the ideology that he was  _ so  _ close to escaping.

Just a couple more steps.

While blinded by his plans, Hugo failed to notice a certain young boy walking about. Hugo bumped harshly into the tan boy in his stupor, causing them to both severely hit the ground with an in-sync thud and cry. Shaking his head, Hugo wished to whatever greater being there was that they had not drawn much if any, attention to themselves. Luckily for him, all of the individuals in the building seemed unfazed by the two’s physical interaction. 

Hugo was quick to jump to his feet after ensuring the box was still secure within his shirt. He turned to dash for the door before a slightly high pitched voice stopped him.

“Hey!” cried the voice. “Watch what you’re doing!”

Hugo stands there momentarily, back turned to the boy he had bumped into. He was stuck in a conundrum of merely taking his leave there or turning and making some snide remark to the individual who had single-handedly nearly wrecked his plans. Never being one for passing up the opportunity to be a smart ass, Hugo turned his head slightly to face the boy.

He was tan, clearly not from the Iron Kingdom. Every inhabitant of the God-forsaken kingdom was a sickly pale at best, if not as white as a sheet. This boy actually had some coloration about him. His hair was as black as the darkest of midnights but was ultimately swallowed up in a white winter beanie to block out the cold, no doubt. His face was freckled much like Hugo’s, and his eyes had this piercing baby blue hue about them. No, this boy was clearly a foreigner, perhaps some sort of tourist looking for stores to go to for holiday shopping. 

He clearly didn’t understand how things worked around here.

With a curt laugh, Hugo turned fully on his heel towards the boy. “Freckles, in this kingdom, you look out for yourself or get pummeled under the shoes of others. Maybe I wasn’t looking out for myself, but it’s clear that you weren’t either,” he said with a sort of iciness to his tone. The tan boy looked ready to argue, but Hugo shushed him with an outstretched hand, offering to help him up. 

The boy looked at Hugo with a shocked expression that seemed to melt into one of suspicion quickly. “If this kingdom is all about looking out for yourself, why offer to help me up?”

Hugo rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Look, it’s clear  _ neither  _ of us was looking where we were going. Think of this as a peace offering. Now, are you going to accept my help or not? My arm’s getting tired,” Hugo whined as he awaited the boy's response.

The boy looked at Hugo skeptically, almost as if he was at a mental battle with himself. Slowly, he outstretched his hand and allowed Hugo to pull him up. Once he was steady on his feet, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks,” the boy said stiffly. 

Hugo gave a slight nod. “No problem.” He turned around to move for the door again, not missing the sound of an older man calling for the boy he had just bumped into. He couldn’t quite make out the name, but he had caught that it started with a ‘V’. An odd choice, Hugo figured, but he didn’t stop long enough to dwell on it. 

The stolen gift still secure in his shirt, Hugo pushed open the store’s door, wondering how the task had been such an easy one to fulfill. Deciding he wouldn’t question a good thing, Hugo began to run back to Donella’s base.

Hopefully, she’d like it.

OoOoOoO

Hugo peered down the base’s corridor that contained his bedroom, keeping an eye and ear out for any indication that Donella was making her way down the hallway. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he made his way down to his room, feet making tiny echoes against the tiled flooring with each step. 

A gentle squeaking made itself present at Hugo’s feet, promptly causing the eleven-year-old to look down. Sure enough, there was his faithful companion, Olivia. He was quick to quell the mechanical mouse, bringing his index finger up to meet his lips. The mechanical mouse almost immediately stopped her squeaks as she continued to follow him to his room. “How did you even get out of my room?” Hugo whispered at her, not expecting a real answer back.

She simply stared up at him, paws padding against the tiled floor. He sighed and shook his head before bending down to allow her to climb onto the palm of his hand. She was quick to scurry up his arm and into his hair. “I hope you didn’t cause too much trouble,” he said quietly. In any other circumstance, he wouldn’t have minded a wee bit of mischief himself. Now, however, with Christmas fast approaching the next day, he wanted things to remain chaos-free. 

Especially since this was his first Christmas with Donella. 

He wasn’t expecting anything from her if he was honest. There wasn’t much he genuinely wanted either. Christmas was a holiday he didn’t tend to enjoy or celebrate. The orphanages he was tossed around to never made much of a fuss over the overly priced holiday, and he’d never live to see the day Solomon ever bothered to allow the children to celebrate Christmas. Sure, he hadn’t been around for a Christmas with Donella before, but he wasn’t expecting this experience to be much different. 

However, Donella treated him much better than any other caretaker ever had. 

She made sure he had clean clothes that fit as well as possible, and she ensured he always had three meals a day. On top of the basic necessities she provided that no other caregiver bothered to, she made it her mission to teach him how to defend himself and provide for himself should a bad situation ever arise.

He owed her his life if he was honest.

For now, his token of appreciation for her kindness would have to be conveyed through the object in the oblong, white box.

Coming up to his room, Hugo turned the doorknob and entered, making sure to close the door with the faintest  _ click _ . He turned to lean his back against the door, his right hand coming up to his head to cradle it, letting out a sigh. It had been a long day, to say the least. To add on to his thievery, Hugo had managed to slip out of the base undetected. If Donella knew he left alone, he’d be in trouble for sure. 

Shaking his head, Hugo slipped the box out from under his shirt, thumb brushing against the cardboard. He still couldn’t believe he managed to pull off such an act. It should have been much more complicated than it was. 

Hugo moved his fingers to lift the lid, gazing down at the object that sat on a soft bed of cotton. It was a simple oval pendant with not so simple engravings. Intricate designs of cogwheels littered the silver pendant. He wasn’t sure what caught her eye about it, seeing as how jewelry wasn’t precisely something Donella wore often, but he couldn’t mistake the look of desire in her eyes when they fell on the necklace.

Hugo put the necklace back in the box, moving towards his closet, where he managed to hide some excess wrapping paper he had successfully swiped from Cyrus’s house. Granted, he probably would have allowed Hugo to have some if he had asked. Hugo hadn’t really thought about it before. 

Hugo knew next to nothing about wrapping, so getting the paper around the oblong box in a way that covered it entirely and didn’t look like a toddler did it was mildly challenging. When he was satisfied with his work, however, he gave out a sigh of relief. His eyes darted to the analog clock that hung from his wall, checking the time.

_ 6:32,  _ he thought to himself.  _ Donella should be finishing up the last of her assignments. If I hurry, I could place it on her bed.  _

With Olivia still entangled in his hair, Hugo made his way back to his bedroom door, wrapped present in tow. Opening the door and giving a glance down both sides of the corridor, Hugo moved out of his room and down the hall towards Donella’s room. It wasn’t too far from his own, just down the hall and to the left.

Upon reaching the woman’s room, he cautiously opened the door, checking his surroundings first. He breathed a silent sigh of relief upon finding the room void of anyone. Quickly, Hugo placed the wrapped present on Donella’s bed before making a nimble exit. He made the walk back down to his room in a much less cautious manner than before since the present had been delivered.

Upon entering his room, however, Hugo noticed something immediately.

There on his bed sat a box wrapped in green and gold paper. He shook his head slightly in disbelief, shutting his door behind him before walking towards the gift. He picked up the box in his hands, wondering if there was some sort of mistake. This couldn’t be for him, could it?

But who else would it be for?

With shaky hands, he tore into the paper, carelessly throwing the shreds onto the ground. When the paper was completely gone, he was left with a cardboard box. There was nothing special to the box, and it gave no indications as to what its contents held. Deciding there was no sense in waiting, Hugo moved to open the box.

Once the box was open, Hugo sucked in a deep breath.

His eyes widened in awe at the object he was presented with, fingers immediately making their way to hold the gadget. 

His fingers brushed over the lenses, careful so as not to smudge them. He couldn’t help the sense of admiration that swelled up in his chest with the goggles’ design, spikes projecting from the sides. He held up the goggles to his eyes, peering through the lenses. He pushed his glasses up onto the top of his head before putting the goggles over his eyes to try them on. The young boy nearly squealed in excitement when he realized the goggles matched the prescription of his glasses. 

He peered over to his bedroom door, wondering who would have left him a present like this. Further inspection of the goggles’ metalwork proved just in fact who left the gift for him.

Hugo would have to thank Donella later. 


End file.
